I'm Not Ready For Love
by xOxbabii.girl.flying.solo.xOx
Summary: Gabriella is trying to convince Troy that she is not ready to love him, yet. Troy can only say otherwise, because he's not like every other guy.


"Troy you don't understand," Gabriella sighed.

"Then, help me to…" Troy pleaded.

"I've had my heart hidden up on a shelf since I was fourteen. I promised myself never to take it off for anyone else again because it would cost too much. I lost a whole chunk of myself, because I though I loved Gavin."

"'Brie, you were only fourteen…" Troy tried. "And I'm not him."

Gabriella shook her head. "I knew you wouldn't understand."

"My arms are open and I want you to know that I'm willing to wait for you to fall into them. I'll stay strong and stay right here, waiting." Troy told her.

"Troy-"

"No, Gabby, hear me out, please. I'm willing to follow you anywhere and everywhere your road of life takes you, no matter what. I'll do whatever you need me to do for you."

"Troy, I can't."

"Baby, why not? Just trust me. Believe in me. Believe in love. Believe in us."

"Troy, no, it's too hard," Gabriella whimpered.

"I'm not like the other guy. Why can't you see that? It was three years ago," Troy looked deep into her eyes.

"Troy, I'm not ready to fall again." _Lie. She already had fallen._

"Why? I'll catch you. I promise. I'm here for you. Can't you see that?"

"I'm not ready for love…" Gabriella tried again.

"Are any of us, really?" Troy asked.

"I don't even know the meaning of love." _Lie. To have a great affection or liking for._

"We can learn it together, then," Troy cut in.

"I'm not ready for the pain…" Gabriella whispered. "Not again. Not after all of these years."

"You're fragile," Troy agreed. "But I know you and you're strong. I won't hurt you. Just give 'us' a try."

"My dad always told me to stay true to myself and to keep my very spirit free," Gabriella told Troy, sitting on her bed.

"You're so stubborn," Troy groaned.

"But, he also told me that love is gonna find me some way, whether I like it, or not," Gabriella added.

"At least someone agrees with me," Troy muttered. "If you take your heart off of the shelf and dust it off, it will tell you what you should do. If you let me love you, I would do everything I can to make it so strong, it can withstand the weight and pressures of the world."

"I'm not ready for this game," Gabriella shook her head, tears threatening to fall. _Lie. She was already caught up in it. She was becoming weaker and weaker and more ready to give in._

"_You can't rewind time and try to prepare yourself, Gabriella," Troy told her, plopping down next to her. "You can't go and change what's already written in the stars. You can't do anything about the fact that I am falling in love with you."_

"_No," Gabriella whispered._

"_Yes, it's true. I am completely and fully in love with Gabriella Anne Marie Montez, my best friend." Troy chuckled. "You can't tell me you don't want to be more than just my best friend…" He searched her eyes for a response. Meanwhile, Gabriella Montez was searching her heart instead of her head, for once in her life._

"_Troy," Gabriella whispered after finding the answer. She had made her final decision. Troy gave up looking for the answers in her eyes. He couldn't find it, it was too hard._

"_Gabby, I think I already know your answer." Troy said, looking at the floor._

"_You do?" Gabriella asked. Troy nodded. "Oh, than Heavens, I had no idea how to put that into words."_

"_Yeah, I hear ya. And it's okay, I understand," Troy said, standing up. "You don't feel the same way."_

"_Yeah, I-Wait. Nooo!!" She shook her head furiously. "No, Troy, that's not what-"_

"_It's okay, 'Brie," Troy cooed. "I'll see you at school."_

"_No! Troy, wait!" Gabriella cried._

"_What?" Troy asked, his voice had the tiniest ounce of bitter in it._

_Gabriella swallowed hard. So, she did have t put this into words. The look on his face was sad and regretful. Gabriella opened her mouth and closed it again. "Troy," she whimpered. He looked as if he were getting angry. "I'm sorry."_

"_Me too. I should've never told you that," Troy shook his head._

"_No, no. You should've told me. It made me open my eyes and realize that what I've been dreading has been here the whole time and it's really not bad at all."_

"_What?" Troy asked, confused._

"_Troy, you misunderstood. I didn't mean that I didn't feel the same." Gabriella told him._

"_Then, what did you mean?" Troy demanded, becoming anxious._

"_Troy," his name slipped off her tongue. "I-I uh, l-love uh….."_

"_What?" Troy encouraged her. "Tell me."_

"_I, uh, Iloveyou," she jumbled all of the words together._

"_Sorry, I didn't quite catch that," Troy said._

"_I. Love. You." Gabriella made out. Troy's eyes widened._

"_What did you just say?" Troy asked, jaw on the floor._

"_I am completely and utterly in love with Troy Alexander Bolton," Gabriella sang._

"_Really?" Troy asked, in shock._

"_Yes, I've known I was falling for a long time. I just didn't realize until now." Gabriella said. Troy smirked. "Okay, maybe I did, but I was in denial, because I thought you wouldn't feel the same."_

"_That was the exact same problem with me," Troy grinned, sitting back down on the bad next to Gabriella."_

"_So, what are we?" Gabriella asked, carefully._

"_Troyella," Troy grinned like a mad man._

"_Troyella. I like it. It has a ring to it," Gabriella smiled. Troy wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "Aww, don't I get more than that?" She giggled._

_Troy stared deep into her chocolate brown eyes and kissed her passionately. Gabriella squirmed in his embrace, but loved the feeling of his lips on hers. Troy took control over the kiss and made it deeper. Gabriella kissed him back, hungrily. Troy pushed her back on the bed. "Troy," she whispered, parting his lips from hers._

"_Too fast?" Troy asked, pulling her back up._

"_No, I like it…a lot." Gabriella giggled. She reached up and brought him into another passionate kiss. Troy pulled back after a few minutes and rested his forehead against hers. "I love you, 'Brie," He told her. "Are you sure you're ready for love?"_

"_The most ready I have ever been," Gabriella smiled and kissed him again._

"_I will never get tired of kissing you," Troy laughed._


End file.
